MichaelP

The focal length of a lens is not the lens’ physical dimension and has little to do with its overall size. The focal length of a lens is an optical property of the lens and measures the distance, typically in [...]

ISO stands for International Organization for Standardization and is used for digital cameras and is a measure of the sensitivity of the camera’s sensor to light. Smaller values represent less sensitivity and larger values represent more sensitive. Doubling or halving [...]

In photography, aperture is the hole within a lens that light travels through to reach the image sensor. The larger the hole, the more light passes to the camera sensor. The aperture is typically expressed in “f” numbers, also known [...]

Shutter speed measures the amount of time the camera's shutter is open. The longer it is open, the more light can enter. Doubling or halving the shutter speed produces an increase or decrease of 1 stop of exposure. Fast shutter [...]

Exposure determines how light or dark an image will appear when captured by your camera. Exposure is controlled by three factors that can be selected on your camera: shutter speed, aperture, and ISO. These three factors and are commonly depicted [...]

Future posts will provide details that will let you understand the factors involved in operating a camera in a mode other than automatic. Exposure and metering will discussed in a future article - that article will explain how to determine [...]

Over the next several months there will be opportunities to improve your ability to produce better bird photographs. To begin the process, a series of posts describing: camera exposure (“exposure triangle”), focal length, camera image sensors, camera types and their [...]